Books with title Reflections on the Civil War

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Bruce Catton was America’s greatest Civil War historian, and he made the events of that seminal conflict come alive for millions. In this, his final book, edited from many hours of tapes after Catton’s death, he goes right to the heart and soul of what brought this nation to the battlefield. He reflects not only on military history, but also on the actual experience of army life for the common soldier; 17 period drawings by soldier-artist John Geyser, a young private in the Union Army, enhance the insightful words. Catton plunges into the spirit of the time to uncover the motives and emotions that caused the flood of war.

Four children…brothers and sisters born to the family Clarmore…their history and destiny intertwined through generations that came before them and foretold thousands of years ago…now it was their time.Gavril Clarmore has waited in the shadows of time for generation after generation of Clarmores for this time…for this generation meant to change that which he’d set in motion in his own lifetime. His journey began long ago, long before the Battle of Thermopylae…before the building of the Pyramid and so much more. He had seen it all and more…waiting…always waiting.His fate is intrinsically tied to that of the four children. He must teach and guide them as they travel through time to learn from the knowledge and wisdom of the Clarmores who have gone before. All have much for them to learn from and in doing so they are prepared for their own destinies that have been fated since almost the beginning of time.In They Will Know You – The Civil War Connection the younger Clarmores meet Linden and Preston Clarmore, both survivors of two different wars of their time. As they learn about the hot air balloons used for spy missions in the Civil War and surprising inventions of the early twentieth century shortly after World War I, they also find that things are not always as they seem. And that so much of what they have always taken for granted were often dreams of the impossible in the time of those they meet. They Will Know You – The Civil War Connection is a story of family. It is the story of generations of Clarmores who have never forgotten one of their own and in passing on his legend they become part of his story…a story of strength and courage, acceptance and faith, perseverance and resolve, and unwavering loyalty. In staying true to himself Gavril Clarmore teaches the greatest lesson of all to the four children he guides…their greatest strength is belief in themselves.The Civil War Connection is the first book in the They Will Know You series. Also available are The Seneca Falls Connection, The Wilberforce Connection, The French Revolution Connection, and Worlds They Left Behind.The They Will Know You series is about family. Even as the Clarmore children travel to visit family members of other times history is not all they learn about. No matter where and when they go family is who they meet and who they learn from…and often about more than the history that surrounds them.

As one of the organic forms of literature, humor has always responded to and reflected the needs of the people at a given time, and the Civil War and its aftermath were days of the South's greatest need. Historians have suggested many reasons for the South's fearless stand against "overwhelming numbers and resources," to use General Lee's words. In this short study, author and historian Wade Hall adds one reason to the list: the humor of the Southerner -- as soldier and civilian -- during the war and the bleak days that followed it. The South arose from the ashes of humiliation and defeat smiling -- though sometimes through tears. The Southerner's sense of humor helped him to fight a war he believed honorable and to accept the bitter defeat which ended it. Without the escape valve of humor, many a "rebel" would have succumbed to despair. The Southerner could smile wistfully as he looked back on a proud past and hopefully as he looked forward to an uncertain future. He smiled because he read humorists like Bill Arp, who once wrote somewhat serio-comically that the South was "conquered but not convinced." In this study, Hall has attempted to represent all the types of humor written in the South between the beginning of the Civil War and the beginning of World War I, specifically 1861 and 1914, including war memoirs, novels, plays, short stories, poetry, and songs. After a survey of humor written during the war, Hall discusses the soldier, the Negro, the poor white, and the "folks at home" in wartime, as they are reflected in the postwar humor.